Steve Stokes' Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Key
Official Position: Candidate addressed this issue directly by taking the Political Courage Test.
Inferred Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, but Vote Smart inferred this issue based on the candidate's public record, including statements, voting record, and special interest group endorsements.
Unknown Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, or we could not infer an answer for this candidate despite exhaustive research of their public record.
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Steve Stokes has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2016 Political Courage Test.
California Congressional Election 2016 Political Courage Test
| Yes | In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing defense spending? | ||
| Yes | In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| I support an end to corporate welfare and will make sure corporations pay their fair share. Specifically I will look to multi-national corporations to make sure that they pay tax at a rate no lower that the American people. | |||
| Yes | Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| No | Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders such as mandatory counseling or substance abuse treatment? | ||
| No | Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders? | ||
| Yes | Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| No | Do you support lowering taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | Do you support providing tax incentives to businesses for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| Federal spending should be carefully managed to deliver the greatest value to our citizens. The impact of federal spending on economic growth is a practical consideration when evaluating programs and funding levels. I want to end corporate welfare. There is merit in considering the positive aspects of that an enterprise brings along with job creation when evaluating tax incentives for a particular industry. I want to create clean energy jobs and restart our economy by rebuilding and modernizing our crumbling infrastructure. | |||
| No | Do you support requiring states to implement education reforms in order to be eligible for competitive federal grants? | ||
| I believe that education decisions should be left to the states and local governments unless those choices discriminate or abridge freedom of religion or other rights granted under the U.S. Constitution. | |||
| No | Do you support building the Keystone XL pipeline? | ||
| Yes | Do you support funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | ||
| Yes | Do you support increased regulations on the hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") industry? | ||
| We must support development of renewable clean energy sources. I support the use of tax incentives and a revenue neutral fee and dividend on carbon production to speed transition to a clean energy economy. | |||
| Yes | Do you believe that human activity is contributing to climate change? | ||
| Yes | Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| I support a revenue neutral fee and dividend on carbon production to be implemented at the source of production and distributed as a dividend to consumers. This incentivizes use of cleaner fuels while leveling the impact on business and family budgets. | |||
| Yes | Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| I support an instant check with the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) to exclude felons and those with mental instabilities that pose danger to themselves and others from purchasing firearms. I support stiff penalties for straw buyers who purchase guns for those who are ineligible. I would do away with the "gun show loophole" and fund mental health programs. Implementation of common sense reform shall include provisions to prohibit maintenance of a register of gun owners. We can do more to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people and protect the rights of responsible, law-abiding citizens. | |||
| No | Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")? | ||
| I support reforming and improving the Affordable Care Act to establish a single payer government sponsored plan and allowing private plans to compete across state lines and attempt to deliver better lower priced coverage. We must be able to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies to bring drug costs in line with those of other countries. I support any reforms that make the cost of healthcare more affordable to consumers and reduce costs to the system. | |||
| No | Do you support requiring illegal immigrants to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship? | ||
| Should the U.S use military force in order to prevent governments hostile to the United States from possessing a nuclear weapon? | |||
| Yes | Do you support targeting suspected terrorists outside of official theaters of conflict? | ||
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| No | Do you support allowing individuals to divert a portion of their Social Security taxes into personal retirement accounts? | ||
SpendingIndicate what federal spending levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one number per category; you can use a number more than once.TaxesIndicate what federal tax levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one number per category; you can use a number more than once.
| a) Agriculture | |||
| b) Arts | |||
| c) Defense | |||
| d) Education | |||
| e) Environment | |||
| f) Homeland Security | |||
| g) International aid | |||
| h) Medical Research | |||
| Greatly Increase | i) Scientific Research | ||
| Greatly Increase | j) Space exploration | ||
| k) United Nations | |||
| l) Welfare | |||
| m) Other or expanded categories | |||
| a) Capital gains taxes | |||
| b) Corporate taxes | |||
| c) Small business taxes | |||
| d) Excise taxes (alcohol) | |||
| e) Excise taxes (cigarettes) | |||
| f) Excise taxes (transportation fuel) | |||
| g) Income taxes (low-income families) | |||
| h) Income taxes (middle-income families) | |||
| i) Income taxes (high-income families) | |||
| j) Inheritance taxes | |||
| k) Payroll taxes | |||
| l) Other or expanded categories | |||
| Overturn Citizens United. Reinstate Glass-Steagall to separate traditional banks from riskier investment banks. Break up too big to fail financial institutions and prosecute wrongdoing. Stop the Trans-Pacific Partnership to save jobs and protect U.S. sovereignty. Maintain net neutrality, demilitarize police departments, end war on drugs, end prisons for profit and mass incarceration for non-violent offenses. End warrantless surveillance and protect internet privacy. Create clean energy jobs, label genetically modified foods, free public universities paid for by tax on Wall Street and by closing overseas military bases. Ballot access reform with open, fair, publicly funded non-partisan elections. |
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